ZAGREB, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Commercial Court in Croatian port city Rijeka issued on Tuesday a decision to postpone bankruptcy of shipyard "3. Maj", one of the biggest shipbuilders in Croatia that has been in financial trouble for a long time.
The decision on bankruptcy was postponed until March 12 when it will be known whether the interested strategic partner, Brodosplit from Split, will participate in the financial consolidation of the shipyards Pula's "Uljanik" and Rijeka's "3. Maj".
"This week we expect the strategic partner Brodosplit to say whether it is financially capable of following the reconstruction of "Uljanik" and "3. Maj", Croatian economy minister Darko Horvat said on Tuesday.
The minister says that if it does not happen then there is no salvage for two Croatian shipyards, whose workers have not received full salaries for several months.
The Croatian government will announce a detailed restructuring plan in a few days, and the crucial problem is whether Brodosplit can provide about 300 million Croatian kuna (45.9 million U.S. dollars), that much is also expected from the state's support for the restructuring process.
"Uljanik" from Pula announced on Feb. 7 the choice of Brodosplit as the strategic partner, and the owner of Brodosplit Tomislav Debeljuh confirmed that the offer was made in cooperation with the Italian Fincateria and other partners who are interested in the recovery of the two Croatian shipyards.
Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik has been in financial problems with troubled waters ahead of it. In 2018, workers from its two shipyards "Uljanik" in Pula and "3. Maj" in Rijeka, have staged several strikes over delayed wages.
